spiffing up a mid-century modern patio

I brake for vintage and modern.

I scream to a halt for chartreuse.

public service announcement: jonathan adler and j.c. penny

I had the most bizarre experience with a shipment from J.C. Penny the other day and must share. I searched high and low for a ceramic coffee canister because I broke our beloved Starbucks canister. I stumbled upon these little beauties.

J.C. Penny Happy Chic Jonathan Adler Canisters

Perfect, right?

blinds: boring but important

A friend of ours asked us if we would help out their sailing club by hosting a couple of girl sailors this summer for a week. Albert said if I was going to host 16-year-old girls, then our bathroom window situation was unacceptable.

Seriously? What is the problem?

#psmw palm springs modernism week: time capsule in marrakesh

I have been saving this post for the end of the week. One of the most pleasantly surprising events of my time at Palm Springs Modernism Week 2013 was the Marrakesh Designer Showcase. More about that next week (no I can't stop).

From Marrakesh Designer Showcase FB Page.

Let's talk about this wallpaper, shall we?

#psmw palm springs modernism week: margaret joplin glass lights for landscape

I am blogging to you live from Palm Springs Modernism Week, Feb.14-24, 2013, a marvelous and fabulous celebration of all things mid-century modern in Palm Springs, California. My mom and I arrived here on Sunday, February 18. It has been non-stop mid-century. Dawn to dusk.

I am loving all the mid-century modern houses and will share them shortly, but I had to post these humongous glass beads for the garden.

ten red mid-century ebay valentines

Are you hankering for a little red something, something to get for your favorite mid-century (topic, etc.) blogger?

eBay listing  Vtg Mid Century Modern Eames Era Red Amberina Glass Spiked Swung Vase 21" Tall

She is a beauty. Have I ever mentioned I love art glass?  1 bid - current price is $24.99

super sunday messy office cleanup

After cleaning up the blog last Sunday, I wondered how I was going to top it. I walked into the office to work on my posts and was greeted by this:

Crazy messy desktop with papers, and bills and junk piled everywhere.

No lie. What a freaking mess.

big birthday bauer balls

When I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art with my son at the end of December, I was fascinated by the big Bauer garden orbs featured in the gift shop.

Bauer Pottery Garden Orbs picture compliments of LA Magazine.

I have a serious thing for Bauer. Bauer was my first foray into eBay in 1998. I was home on maternity leave and eventually wound up on a first name basis with the FedEx guy. These garden orbs at LACMA thrilled me but they were ever so expensive.

the office holiday pole decorating contest

Yep, you read that right. In our office this year, we held our second annual Holiday Pole Decorating Contest. We work in a retrofitted 1960's office building (very mid-century). The cubes and office walls have been moved here and there over the decades. The most recent remodel about six years ago left ugly black structural poles exposed and sitting in the middle of the aisles.

Last Christmas the whole floor (I.T. team) had a pole decorating contest. I covered mine in Post-its.

christmas lights mid-century modern style

I think if I had to pick my absolutely favorite thing about Christmas decorations, I would have to pick the lights. Christmas lights on homes are just so darn pleasant.

But in Southern California (and I assume Florida and Hawaii), light wrapped palm trees kick off the holiday decorating season and are particularly awe inspiring.

mid-century minimalist christmas decorations

Last weekend was our gitter done weekend for house decorations and other important Christmas tasks (I warmed up a bit the previous week). I finally banged out the Christmas cards and got them mailed.

I love the Christmas card tradition. I enjoy and appreciate every single card we receive. So I send a fair amount. Then, as my reward, Albert brought in the tree and the boxes of Christmas decorations.

the barrett's kid friendly mid-century modern

 HOUSE TOUR

I had so much fun with the San Diego Dwell Home Tour (you can see #1 here, #2 here, #3 here and #4 here) that I decided to hunt down all the people I know who have cool houses. First on the list is the Barrett's 1965 California-style ranch house.

I came over on a very foggy evening.

ebay fail: the liability of not looking closely at listings

I have a special spot in the kitchen reserved for a mid-century atomic style clock. And, I have been looking at eBay listings for mid-century atomic clocks for a long time. I finally spotted the perfect clock. Before you can say "buy now," I entered a bid.

This picture is from the actual listing. Don't you think the Indian on the wall is a nice touch?

retro ornament christmas wreath: by georgia peachez

In the spirit of Superstorm Sandy, we are skipping Halloween and plunging straight into Christmas. Well, actually it was my mom's birthday last week (what, you didn't get October 24th off?) and I gave her the BEST GIFT EVER.

Best. Gift. Ever.

A big jumbley pile of old Christmas ornaments? Come on, seriously?

christmas in october: roger's gardens

Christmas should be like the Olympics--held every four years. Then, like the recent 2012 Summer Olympics, when Christmas finally rolls around, we could work ourselves up into a fever pitch enjoying it. I am the last person you would expect to remind anyone, that the holidays are right around the corner.

Sorry to disappoint. But the holidays really are right around the corner. And, the infamous Roger's Gardens in Corona del Mar, California opened their Christmas Boutique, The Magic of Christmas, on October 1st. Relax, Costco has had Christmas up since August at least.

mid-century halloween at roger's gardens

Roger's Gardens in Corona del Mar, California has been selling their ridiculously over-priced gardening and home decorating goods to the citizens of Newport Beach for over 35 years. With their approximate location being less than five minutes from my home, I have been known to drop in. Especially around the holidays.

Intrigued?

lighting gone wrong: the pitfalls of home improvement projects

It is an absolute fact: no matter how easy the home project and no matter the skill of the projector (projectee?), projects can quickly spiral out of control. One fix can break something else, a purchase to right a wrong will lead quickly to the next purchase. I have been waiting months to write this post, thinking, that at some point we would be done. Since we will never be done, let's get going.

In April, I went to New York City with my cousin.

Me in the Meat Packing District

dwell on design - #3 modern lighting

Here are some inspired modern lighting ideas from the Dwell on Design Modernism show held June 22-23, 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (now known as the Staples Center and home of the Lakers and Stanley Cup Kings).

Let's start out with these cool lights which can be had from Lightopia based out of Laugna Beach. I recently purchased a Jonathan Adler lamp from Lightopia and Lightopia offered the best prices, hands down, of any online shop for the lamp I was looking for.

Beautiful lights from Lightopia, locally in Laguna Beach CA.

modern watercolor for the bedroom

With the bathroom (and honestly bedroom) remodel being done, I have been turning my attention to art. The art in the bedroom has been Japanese for a very long time. I won a one-month trip to Japan from Rotary Clubs as a "young business person" in the the early 90's which caused me to fall in love with Japan and all things Japanese. While there, I purchased and was given a few prints that I had nicely framed, but somehow they didn't totally fit the more mid-century vibe.

Gold print is shows the changing of the seasons,
and bottom two are Hiroshige prints.

solving the mantle problem in a mid-century modern

When you live in a house for many years (say ten or more), three things naturally happen. You get older, your tastes change, and you get smarter about home projects. It was love at first site when the real estate agent first showed us our house 15 years ago. I had no idea we were buying a mid-century modern. We thought we were buying a 1,600 square foot, 1955 tract house in a decent neighborhood.

A wall was added years ago before us, supposedly featured
in a Sunset article (the walled courtyard) - Picture from Nov-1997 when we purchased.